In integrated circuit (IC) design, mask fabrication is a critical step for reproducing circuit features with high fidelity. Current trends in IC fabrication include active and passive optical components that may have stringent geometrical specifications for adequate device performance. While electronic performance may be more flexible in terms of accurate geometrical fidelity with an IC design, the optical components are less tolerant to shape errors and deviations from the prescribed model. Moreover, the shapes of optically active or passive components may deviate from the more traditional rectilinear or square type electronic components. Accordingly, it is desirable to develop methods and system to accurately transfer such sophisticated shapes and features to a mask for IC fabrication.
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